02 - Ira Allen

ep. 4 The Rise and Fall (And Rise Again!) of the Medici Family (1400 - 1500 CE)

The Medici rose from an obscure clan of suckups to become the dominant family in Florence, pulling the strings and becoming secret dictators of the Banker’s Republic. Guile, cunning, a little bit of luck, and a lot of finance shenanigans. They were sponsors of the Renaissance, or so they claimed… But not every heir is a winner. When the bank starts falling apart, the family will go down with it. Can the Republic be saved?? This is a long one, buckle up. we cover: Giovanni Di Bicci de’Medici Cosimo the Elder Lorenzo the Magnificent Piero the Loser AND Griolamo Savonarola’s Dominican radicalism. notes: De Re Uxoria https://www.itergateway.org/sites/default/files/OV42extract.pdf [https://www.itergateway.org/sites/default/files/OV42extract.pdf] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Barbaro_(politician) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Barbaro_(politician)] The Family Medici by Mary Hollingsworth http://pegasusbooks.com/books/the-family-medici-9781681776484-hardcover [http://pegasusbooks.com/books/the-family-medici-9781681776484-hardcover]

Ep. 3 The Guilds of Florence!

The Guilds are strong, but not equal. The merchants are bringing great wealth to the city, but not everyone benefits. The politics are glamorous, but not everyone takes part. The situation is ripe for an uprising. This episode is so beefy. 1350-1390

Ep. 2 The Rise of the City of Florence!

The city encounters problems stemming from its own ambition and a foreigner is invited to take temporary control, but he exacerbates a growing class divide, sparking uprisings, all under the shadow of the Pestilence. Meanwhile the bankers turn the crisis to their advantage. 1300-1350

The History of Florence ep.1

Caught between the Pope and the Empire, Florence starts to take shape. The city goes through transformations as new constitutions and governing techniques are tried, developed, discarded, overthrown, retried. Welcome to the Flourishing Republic. We're off baby!

02 - Ira Allen

Ira Allen will have you wondering why he gets credit for anything at all. Businessmen trying to overthrow governments? What is this, modernity?